Tax Assistant Review

On a daily basis i work as a Tax Assistant and I have to compile tax computations, review workpapers from other people on the team when they review mine in return, I have to occasionally interact with the client regarding the mismatches we have as well as feed back those to my manager

i had no background in tax when I first started so I feel like I learned a lot through doing AAT as my chosen qualification as well as numerous tax trainings eg tax computation training. Normally all our trainings are run internally by people that work in the specific learning and development department

I enjoy the work that i do, I find it challenging enough but not too challenging to the point that I'm struggling. I like my team and they make me feel like I'm part of that team and we have a strong team spirit in place as we spend a lot of time together.

I feel that the work I do is appreciated by most my managers however I sometimes do tasks and put effort into it when they may not be required or get discoped which makes me feel like my efforts are not valued. I also feel like I don't get the same salary recognition as graduates which is unfair considering we have the same experience

In terms of structure all the apprentices get an induction however our induction is a lot less costly as the graduates one and we don't get to do the same tasks as them. We have training but again graduates get better trainings and they get mandatory trainings to get everyone on the same level. We have a lot of support for our studies though

Our training provider always encourage us to get in touch with them during lectures however I personally find it that some of my emails were left unanswered and i often have to chase them to set up a call. I feel that this is an attitude issue as they think that my questions are "stupid"

We have a standardized support system and I is up to you what use you make of it - if you keep in touch with your mentor and stay keen in terms of organizing catch ups together you will feel supported. Same applies to your manager and line manager, they'd occasionally check up on you but at the end of the day it's all up to you

I've been struggling since I joined and actually started looking into alternative jobs / getting a weekend job in order to make the ends meet. The rent in london is very expensive and there are days, especially before payday, when I have to borrow money to pay for my oyster card.

We have a dedicated team at KPMG that are responsible for corporate responsibilities and if you get in touch with them you can find out about plenty of opportunities to get involved in. We also have a lot of team events with clients outside of work

Yes

Overall, it;s a great name to have on your CV and it is a good for your career. It is good in the beginning if you have no prior knowledge and you do a bunch of trainings and make a lot of connections. However in terms of salaries graduates get about 10k more which is a huge and unfair difference

When you start at KPMG you have to remember that everything is down to you in the end. Sign yourself up to trainings, put coffee meetings into diaries of people you want to meet and find out about what senior people do in the company, also make sure you know what you want to do and it genuinely is your passion.